


The Contractor

by orphan_account



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Amnesia, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Short, Shyness, i luv hongjoong, insecure, might add more later idk what im doing tbh, please bring back the mullet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 19:46:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20278804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You wake up in a forest with no recollection of who you are. Without warning, you're hunted down by a beast that closely resembles a hideous monster. It's made of an inky black substance and looks far from normal, even in your amnesiac eyes. A glowing white and gold deer saved you from being killed, and it's soon revealed to be a woman. You're taken in under her wing, and she explains to you that the monster you encountered was a Shadow, beasts that hunger for the jewels in your chest. Only a few percent of the population have one of these jewels, and it's hidden by most eyes. Only Contractors and Shadows can see them, and many are eager to have one. In this world, ones who are born with a jewel must form a contract with a Contractor to be safe. It's beneficial for both parties, the contractee's are protected, and the Contractors are no longer immortal.Except your Contractor is Kim Hongjoong, the most beautiful and mysterious person you have ever met since your eventual existence.





	The Contractor

You couldn’t remember anything leading up to this point. No thoughts were forming in the back of your mind, no memories, no names or faces. 

It was empty. You felt like a vessel with nothing inside. 

And through it all, you’ve never felt more confused. Nothing yet everything was happening all at once, leaving you wanting to gasp with panic, yet remain calmly neutral.

You were just existing, right at this moment, and that thought alone was enough to set you on edge. 

Your eyes scanned the area surrounding you, darting from the various shrubs and trees lining the space. It seemed like a forest of some sort, with tall gorgeous trees and dewy green grass. 

The first coherent thought crossed your mind was that of wonder, and you couldn’t help but think how beautiful all of it was. It seemed like the images before you were something out of a book, seeming entirely too ethereal to be real. 

Yet here it was, right before your very eyes, unimaginably beautiful. There were rays of light piercing through the empty spaces of the leaves, leaving splattered shadows across the ground and on your skin. It felt warm and almost soothing to you. 

You could probably stay in this moment forever and not question a thing.

But the sound of crunching leaves halted your train of thought. 

Your mind ground to a halt, the hairs on the back of your neck rising from the ominous feeling washing over you. There was the feeling of eyes on your back, ones that made you feel unexplainably frightened and anxious. Pushing your pale palms against the earth, you pushed yourself up to stand on your feet, feeling unsteady and lethargic for a reason you couldn't fathom. The dress clothing your body caught your eye, yet you couldn’t have time to digress over how soft the material was or how the ends reached your ankles. 

There was something behind you, casting a shadow far too large to be human over your form. 

With widened eyes and trembling hands, you cautiously turned around.

Only to see a sight that made you want to scream in terror.

It was an ominous creature, one you couldn’t make out. It was large with a wide chest and ruby red eyes, feline snout set into a snarl. Its form reminded you of an animal, with the body of a bear and the head of a tiger. 

Except it was pitch black, covered in disgusting, inky tendrils. It wrapped around its body like a net, bubbling and moving like the skin itself was alive. It dripped from its body slowly, pouring onto the earth and scorching the grass in its wake.

Black saliva drooled from the creature's lips, one of unadulterated hunger. 

It was the face of a predator looking down on its prey. 

You trembled and shivered, afraid of making the slightest sound in fear of the wild beast sensing your mere presence. Even though you came into being with nothing on your mind and no emotions in check, you were 100% sure you were feeling true fear. 

It terrified you to the core.

The beast took a predatory step, back haunches low to the ground, almost as if ready to pounce.

That was all you needed to start running the opposite direction.

You let out a scream, feeling the monster chasing after you. Your bare feet thudded against the grass, bits of pebble and sharp sticks nipping uncomfortably at your skin. The slight pain was nothing compared to the terror of being hunted down, possibly even eaten.

You dodged branches a few times, some managing to slap against your cheeks and arms, leaving red welts in its place. 

The beast let out a terrible roar, the sound not dissimilar to gurgling. They snagged a claw into the ends of your dress, causing your body to jolt backwards, body rolling, and rolling. Your back slammed against a tree trunk, a pained gasp escaping your lungs. 

They were crawling low to the ground, thinking the long blades of grass were enough to camouflage them. 

You’d like to think you weren’t a fool, not foolish enough to believe sitting around like this was a good idea. 

So as soon as the monster pounced, you ducked your head and leapt out of the way, hearing the almost satisfying thud of the beast hitting their head against the thick tree. 

You didn’t want to wait and see if the thing would recover, so you continued to flee to the best of your ability. 

Your breaths were coming out in pained gasps, heart thudding and chest feeling like it was on fire. You realized soon enough this body of yours was not used to running, especially for such a long time. It was slowly beginning to give out, your petrified runs turning into scared hobbles. The space between your thighs was burning from the friction, and that alone wanted to make you topple over. 

The frustrated yell from the beast made you realize just how far away you ran from the scene. You started to feel a little elated.

There was a possibility that you outsmarted the predator.

You flung yourself behind a bush, hands wildly gripping at your chest to calm your beating heart. It was hard trying to level your breathing, not wanting to alert the monster to your location. 

A breath of relief was released from your trembling lips, hair sticking to the sides of your face and the back of your neck from the sweat you produced from the run. Your ears couldn’t pick up any noises, no crunching of leaves or the snap of twigs. 

You were safe for the time being. 

Your mind scrambled to piece together everything that was happening. You couldn’t understand how your situation came to this. You essentially wake up in a place not familiar to you, with no recollection of who you are, what your name is, or even where you came from. How could monsters like that exist at all, you ponder? 

Your thoughts were once again interrupted by the beast.

They let out a raging snarl, claws latching themselves in the hem of your dress. Your body was unceremoniously thrown to the ground roughly, a large paw seated on the top of your chest. Your neck was barely fitted between the toes of the beast, its white claws keeping you trapped in a vise. 

Your eyes widened, contacting the red orbs of the creature above you. It huffed and puffed, spitting bits of saliva on your cheeks, sizzling hot and burning into your skin. 

You were just brought into being not minutes ago, and now you were on the verge of death. 

You didn’t want to die. You didn’t even have the chance to live yet. There were so many things you wanted to do, questions to ask, and answers to find. 

You couldn’t die. 

“Let go of me!” You screamed at the terrible beast towering over you, fighting desperately to be free from its hold. You reached your hands around its toes, scratching and squeezing with all your might. You clawed at the inky black surrounding your body, gasping and wheezing from the pressure. It felt like the substance was seeping into your clothes and down into your skin, making your movements slow and sluggish. 

The only thing that seemed to register through the beasts’ head was that this was a battle they would win. 

There was nothing you could do now. 

Tears sprang at the corner of your eyes, a choking sob making its way out your throat. You didn’t want to believe any of this was happening, and that your current events were nothing but a twisted dream your mind conjured up. You wanted to wake up from this nightmare in a bed of your own, a guardian rushing into your room to check on you and make sure you were okay. They’d give you a hug and rub soothing circles onto your back as you clung to them. After a while, you would peacefully fall asleep in their arms, the nightmarish dream becoming nothing in the back of your subconscious. 

But nothing like that was happening. You were still in the hold of a beast, hot tears streaming down your burning cheeks. 

The only thing you could do now was await your demise. 

Out of nowhere, a stream of gold and white pushed into the beast, knocking it off of you and onto its side. The impact caused the ground to shake, and you gasped for air on the ground. 

You shot up in your place, hand rubbing at your neck where the pain hurt the most. Your eyes darted about, finally landing on a shimmer of white and gold. 

It was a shape of a deer, with a ghostly white body and glowing gold antlers. It stood without fear before the beast, clearly the cause of the impact it suffered.

They sluggishly got to their feet, glaring at the smaller animal in front of them and baring their yellowed teeth. The deer paid no heed to the threats of the monster, almost waiting patiently for the other to make the next move.

And move they did. The beast sprang up suddenly, claws outstretched for the seemingly innocent animal. You reached out a hand, eyes widened in fear. You shouted in protest, not wanting the beautiful creature to suffer in the hands of something none suited to the heavenly animal. 

With lightning reflexes, the deer skipped to the side, taking this moment to jump into the fray and ram their pointed antlers into the monster's side. 

It let out a terrible roar, one of pain and anguish. Ever so slowly, it crumpled to the ground, head thumping against the grass, unmoving. In just a few short seconds, the monster close to ending your life faded to dust before your eyes. 

There was no sign of a raging monster being there just seconds ago, and now empty air takes its place. 

You stared at the scene with your mouth agape, disbelieving how such a small, magnificent animal could take down something twice its size. 

Then, the sparkled deer turned towards you. Black eyes connected with yours, almost piercing through you. 

Without warning, a swirl of golden dust encased the creature, shielding them from your view. You reached an arm up to block your eyes from the particles. 

In its place stood a beautiful woman, with long, jet black hair and a worried expression on her pale face. She glided towards you, getting on her knees without a second thought and a hand placing themselves on your cheek. 

“Are you all right?” She asked, face etched with nothing but worry for you. 

The first seemingly human person you came into contact with since your awakening, and the only thing you could do in response was faint. 

**Author's Note:**

> ok so this is something . i have no idea what the hell im doing but let's see where this goes ig


End file.
